Sheet-delivery mechanism of printing machines



F. SPENCE.

SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM 0F PRINTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2B. 1922.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28. 1922.

Patented N ov. 21, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented hier., 2l, w22.

nurse atari;l

earner FRED SPENCE, 0F ALTRINCHAIQ, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR T0 LNOTYPE AND MACHINERY LIMITED, 0F LONDGN, ENGLAND, A COIVIPANY 0F GREAT BRITAIN.

SHEET-DELIVERY MECHANISIV OF PRINTING MACHIN Application led February 28, 1922. Serial No. 539,979.

.To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, linnn Srnivcn, a subject of the King' oi the United Kingdom of Great Britain and lreland, and residing at Linotype and Machinery l/Vorks, Altrincham, in the county of Chester, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in or Relating` to Sheet-Delivery Mechanism o1"- Printing Machines, of which the following is a specilication.

This invention relates to sheet-delivery mechanism of' printing machines, and particularly to that type of such mechanism which comprises a number or sticks supported by a carriage which is traversed inwards and outwards, the sticks, during the inward travel of such carriage, passing between delivery tapes from which during the subsequent outward travel of the carriage, they receive the sheet. ln this type of mechanism., as is well-known, the sheet is caused to fall on to the delivery board by the action of pivoted lingers which are raised and lowered between the sticks, and which, when raised, engage the inner edge oie the sheet and, as it were, sweep the sheet oli the sticks during the inward travel of the carriage.

ln this class of mechanism, considerable difficulty has arisen through the breaking of the ngers, attributable, it is believed, to the violence with which they have been brought into contact with the stop which limits their movement to the inoperative po sition, and the object of the present invention is to provide means for arresting' the` lingers in their terminal positions with a minimum shock, and the preferred means for carrying this into effect dispense with all such positive stops acting on the fingers, and impart to the said lingers a movement which gradually decreases in rate as the lingers approach their terminal positions.

rl`he invention will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of suflicient of the delivery mechanism of a printing machine to illustrate the embodiment therein oi' the said invention;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing the various parts of the mechanism in positions respectively different from those occupied by them in such figure, and

Figure 3 is a plan of Figure 1 with parts omitted.- j

In these drawings, 1 indicates one of the several sticks which are secured to a shaft 2 supported by the carriage 3, only parts ci which shaft and carriage are represented in the drawing. 5 indicates one of the several delivery tapes and 6 one of the tape rollers fast to a shaft 7, and between which rollers and tapes, the sticks l pass during' the inward travel of the carriage 3, and from which they receive a sheet during each outward movement of said carriage.

8 are the sheet pusher lingers which are raised to erect position between vthe sticks 1 for pushing' the sheets oliE the latter during the inward travel of the carriage 3, and lowered to prone position near the completion of that travel so as to be out of the path or the sheets as they are delivered on to the sticks during the next following outward travel of said carriage. 9 is the rock shaft on which the lingers 8 are adustably secured, and which is supported in two brackets 10, horizontally adjustable along bars 11 at opposite sides of the machine, but only one such bracket and bar are represented in the drawings. The brackets 10 may be secured in their diilerent adjusted positions by split pins 12 0r equivalent, inserted into holes 13 in the said brackets and the bars 11.

All the foregoing means and their manner oi operation are as is usual in existing delivery mechanism of a like kind, and the mechanism according `to the present invention diiers from those already known, in the respects hereinafter particularized.

Near one end or" the rock shaft 9 is secured an arm 1st having al, non-radial slot 15 with which engages a stud 16 fast to one arm 17 of a bell-crank lever 17, 18 pivoted to the adjacent horizontally-adjustable bracket 10. The other arm 18 'of the lever 17, 18 has swivelled to it a perforated block 19 through which passes a pull-rod 20 on which it can be adjusted to any desired position, and secured by a pinching screw 21 in any such position, according to the diierent lengths of the sheets to be delivered. The outer end oi' the pull-rod 2O is pivotally connected to a cam lever 22 pivoted to a bracket 23 fast to the respectively adjacent bar 11, and movable into and out of the path ci? a roller 24 mounted on the carriage 3 conveniently on the stick-carrying shait 2. rlhe bracket 10 has further pivoted to it, on a horizontal post 25, acurved lever 26 which is of such shape that it extends into the path oi the roller 24, and this lever carries a downwardly-extending block or projection 2'? which bears on the top ot the lever arm 17, The horizontal post is swivelled to the bracket 10 and through it loosely passes one end ot a rod 28 whose opposite end is pivoted to the slotted lever arm 1d. This rod 28 is encircled by a helical compression spring 29 which, at its respectively opposite ends, bears against the post 25 and a head or shoulder 30 on the rod 28, and the horizontal axes of the post 25 and the rock shaft 9 are so relatively positioned., as in certain toggle devices, that the spring' reta-ins the lingers 8 in their two terminal positions until they positively moved therefrom through the action ot the roller 211 on either the curved lever 26 or the cam lever 2;'.

The operation ci the before-described apparatus is, as follows, it being, for convenience, assumed that the starting point o'l the cycle, is that at which the carriage 3 is at the end ci its inward stroke, say approximately as shown in Figure 1 with the iingers 8 in their corresponding prone or inoperative position, as shown in the said figure, and held in that position, as hereinbetore eX- plained, by the spring 29. During the next ensuing outward movement ot the carriage 3, the sticks 1 receive a sheet Jfrom the tapes and the roller 24 passes over the thendepressed eurvod lever 26 without affecting it, and near the end or" that outward movement, the said roller comes into Contact with the cani lever 22 which, through the pull-rod 20, bell-crank lever 17, 18 and slotted arni lil, raises the fingers S to operative position, as shown in Figure 2. 0n the next inward 'journey of the carriage 2l, the sheet is swept oit the sticks 1, by the engagement olf the lingers 8 with its inner edge, and the roller 24, during the continued inward movement or" the carriage 3, depresses the curved lever 26, and this, through the block 27 thereon, turns the bell-crank lever 17, 18, so that the latter, through its stud 16, rocks the slotted arm 14 downwards, with the result that the hngers 8 are correspondingly swung downwards into their prone or inoperative posiin which they are shown in Figure 1 pivoted rlhe swing of the fingers 8 'from one position to the other, is limited by o the slot 15 contacting with the stud 16, and the angle and length et said slot are such that as the fingers 8 approach their terroinal positions, their movement is gradually retarded, so that they are arrested in those positions without shock, and when they have reached said positions the axis of the slot and that of the lever arm i7 are perpendicular to each other, so that at those insta-nts there is no turning moment about the axis of the 'lnger-carrying shait 9.

lt is to he understood that the arrangement hereinbefore described and represented in the drawings, is to be regarded as illustrative merely o' a preferred constructional form of' the invention and that the same may be modified in many ways without dcpartingfrom the essential features oi such invention; tor example, as will be obvious, the arrangement of the slot and stud 16 may be reversed, that is to say, the former may be in the bell-crank lever arm 17 and the latter carried by the arm ll.

Having thus described my invention, l declare that what l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent isz- 1. ln or tor sheet-delivery mechanism for printing machi ce, the combination oit sheetpusher fingers adapted to be swung about a horizontal axis, and an oscillating slotted arm for imparting suoli swinging motion, characterized by the *fact that the slot is nonradial to the axis about which the arm oscillates,

2. In sheet-delivery mechanism for printing' machines, the combination-with a reciprocating delivery carriage and with devices according to claim 1, o'l means operated by the delivery carriage at different parts of its stroke to effect the swinging in relatively reverse directions ot the sheet-pusher fingers.

3. in sheet-delivery mechanism for printing machines, means according to claim 2, characterized by a bell-crank lever turning about an axis in lined relationship to 'that about which the fingers swing, and in sliding connection with the slot of the arm, two

members such as 22 and 26 in position to be operated by the delivery carriage at respectively diiierent parts oie its stroke, and means connecting the said members with the bell-crank lever for moving it in respectively diiferent directions.

ln testimony whereoi1 l have affixed my signature hereto.

FRED SPENGE.

the outer end 

